The Key to Creating Meaningful Relationships

No matter what type of life you are in, relationships increase your satisfaction with life and your level of happiness. Recent research indicates that meaningful relationships are not limited to marriage. This is good news as our population has an increasing number of single households.

What is known about relationships?

Since the type of relationships you have greatly affects the quality of your life, it is important to your sense of well-being and confidence to know how to create and sustain meaningful relationships. This includes establishing and maintaining trust.

In addition, relationships require two kinds of energy:

Material (food, housing, physical care and money)

Psychic (investing attention in each other's goals)

Almost everyone understands the need and value of material energy, especially in your personal life. Men, in particular, are often very good at providing material energy at home. They see themselves as the "provider." In previous generations, material energy was often all that was needed to assure relationships would last. Now, that is no longer true because this energy alone does not ensure lasting relationships. It is also not as important in friendships or at work.

The current deep erosion of trust in our environment creates a strong need for ways to build trust. To meet this need, psychic energy has become the key to creating and sustaining relationships both at home and at work because it builds trust. Examples of psychic energy are sharing activities, ideas, emotions, dreams and memories.

You choose whether or not to put psychic energy into your relationships. This meas that the quality of a relationship is a matter of attention and choice.

Where does psychic energy come from?

The major source of psychic energy is flowor engagement. This is a state of being that is characterized by:

Focusing your attention which is highly motivating.

Using your strengths which results in feelings of happiness or heightened satisfaction.

Finding ways to use your strengths and focus your attention on the other person gives you the opportunity to strengthen your relationship and build trust.

To enhance your relationships, choose to do more activities that use your psychic energy. Notice whether you focus on material energy or psychic energy in your important relationships. Notice when you are with someone important to you what you are doing when time "flies by." That is a signal you are using psychic energy and one or more of your top strengths.

In my next post, I will say more about how you can use this type of energy in your relationships to keep them healthy.

Founder, Maurine Patten

Maurine helps upper-level professionals transform their Encore Years into the most rewarding, meaningful and joy-filled time of their life. As an agent of change, she loves guiding them in putting together the 4 pieces of the Retirement Puzzle so they can tap into their dreams and make informed decisions which lead to a fulfilling life. Click Here to Read More...